Wait, I Have Prediabetes? Everything You Need To Know About This Common Pre-Condition

Doctor explaining blood sugar test results to a patient to answer what is prediabetes

This content is AI-assisted and for informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a licensed medical professional before making any health-related decisions.

If you’ve recently gotten a lab note mentioning prediabetes, or you’ve been wondering “What is prediabetes, and am I at risk?” after noticing constant post-meal fatigue, frequent sugar cravings, or more trips to the bathroom than usual, you’re in the right place. I’m a 10-year type 2 diabetes veteran who first caught my condition at the prediabetes stage, and I’ve helped hundreds of people in my peer support group reverse their prediabetes before it progresses to full type 2. This guide will break down everything you need to know, from basic definitions to actionable steps and tools to help you take control.

First: Who This Guide Is For (And When You Should Pay Attention)

This guide is built for three core groups, and if you fall into any of them, it’s worth taking 10 minutes to read through:

  1. Adults over 45 with a BMI of 25 or higher, or anyone with a first-degree family member (parent, sibling) with type 2 diabetes
  2. People who just received a prediabetes diagnosis on their routine lab work and don’t know what to do next
  3. People who have had gestational diabetes, PCOS, or a history of high blood sugar during medical procedures Common use cases where this guide will help: you’re preparing for a doctor’s appointment to ask about prediabetes screening, you want to track your blood sugar at home to reduce your risk, or you’re helping a family member navigate a new prediabetes diagnosis.

So What Is Prediabetes, Exactly?

Prediabetes is the reversible stage before type 2 diabetes, where your blood sugar levels are higher than the normal healthy range, but not high enough to qualify for a formal type 2 diabetes diagnosis. The official diagnostic thresholds set by the CDC are:

The scariest part of prediabetes is that 90% of people who have it don’t know they do, because it rarely causes obvious symptoms until it progresses to diabetes. The CDC estimates that 1 in 3 U.S. adults have prediabetes, and without intervention, 15–30% of them will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years. The good news? Prediabetes is almost always reversible with small, consistent lifestyle changes, no prescription medication required for most people.

Real Life: My Own Prediabetes Story (And What I Wish I Knew Back Then)

10 years ago, I was 32, working a 60-hour a week desk job, eating takeout for 80% of my meals, and drinking 2 full-sugar sodas every single day. I had a family history of type 2 diabetes, but I was young and active on the weekends, so I thought I was immune. I went in for a routine physical for a new job, and my doctor called me 2 days later to tell me my A1c was 6.1% — I had prediabetes.

I panicked at first. I thought I’d have to cut out all my favorite foods, spend hours at the gym every week, and still end up with diabetes eventually. I tried cutting out all sugar cold turkey, and I crashed and burned after 10 days, binging on an entire bag of candy at 2 a.m. because I was so deprived. Then a veteran member of my local diabetes support group told me to stop trying to overhaul my entire life at once, and start with one tiny change: a 10-minute walk right after every meal.

I tried it, and I was shocked at how much of a difference it made. After a week, I stopped falling asleep at my desk 2 hours after lunch. After a month, I swapped one of my daily sodas for sparkling water with lemon, then swapped the other a few weeks later. I started adding a full cup of roasted vegetables to every dinner, so I ate less white rice without feeling hungry. 6 months later, I went back for a follow-up test, and my A1c was 5.3% — completely back to the normal range. I kept that up for 3 years before a period of high stress and poor habits pushed me into type 2, and that’s why I’m so passionate about sharing what works: I know firsthand how easy it is to reverse prediabetes if you catch it early and take small, sustainable steps.

What To Do If You Think You Have Prediabetes: Step-By-Step Action Plan

If you suspect you have prediabetes, or you just got a diagnosis, follow these steps to get on top of it right away:

  1. Get formal testing first: Don’t rely only on at-home glucometer readings to diagnose yourself. Make an appointment with your primary care doctor to get a full A1c test and fasting blood sugar panel, which will give you a clear picture of your average blood sugar over 3 months.
  2. Track your patterns for 2 weeks: Use an at-home glucometer to test your blood sugar 2 hours after meals for 2 weeks, and write down what you ate for each meal. This will show you exactly which foods spike your blood sugar, so you don’t have to follow a generic “diabetes diet” that cuts out foods you love.
  3. Make 1-2 small lifestyle changes first: Don’t try to cut out all carbs or start running 5 miles a day. Pick one change you can stick to, like a 10-minute post-meal walk, or swapping white bread for whole grain bread, and stick with it for 4 weeks before adding another change.
  4. Re-test in 3 months: Schedule a follow-up A1c test 3 months after your first diagnosis to measure your progress. Most people see a 0.5-1% drop in A1c in that time with small changes, which is enough to get back to the normal range for many.

Essential Tools For Managing Prediabetes: My Tried-And-Tested Buying Guide

The right tools will make tracking your blood sugar and progress way easier, and after 10 years of testing every product on the market, I’ve narrowed down the best options for people new to prediabetes.

Target Users & Use Scenarios

These tools are built for:

Key Buying Factors To Look For

  1. Function: For glucometers, prioritize a small sample size (less than 1 microliter, so pricking your finger doesn’t hurt), 5-second or faster read time, and Bluetooth sync to your phone to automatically track trends. Avoid meters with fancy extra features you won’t use, like sports mode, if you’re just starting out. For test strips, make sure they are compatible with your meter and low-cost, since they are a recurring expense.
  2. Price: A reliable basic glucometer should cost $15-$30, and test strips should cost $0.20-$0.50 per strip, no more. Premium continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) cost $50-$100 per month out of pocket, so only invest in one if you want to track your blood sugar 24/7 to see food responses.
  3. Brand: Only buy FDA-cleared brands. No-name cheap meters from Amazon often have inaccurate readings that can lead you to make bad decisions about your diet. The brands I trust after 10 years of use are Contour Next, OneTouch, and Accu-Chek.

My Top Recommendations

  1. Budget Pick (Best for New Users): Contour Next One Glucometer Kit This is the meter I recommend to every new person in my support group. It’s 99% accurate, only needs a 0.5 microliter blood sample, syncs automatically to the Contour app to track your trends, and test strips only cost $0.22 each when you buy in bulk. The kit comes with 50 test strips, 100 lancets, and a carrying case for travel.

    Buy it here: Contour Next One Glucometer Kit on Amazon (I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase through this link, which supports the free resources I share for the diabetes community.)

  2. Premium Pick (Best for Detailed Tracking): Freestyle Libre 2 CGM Starter Kit If you want to see exactly how every food, workout, and night of sleep affects your blood sugar, the Freestyle Libre 2 is the best CGM on the market for prediabetes. It doesn’t require any finger pricks, scans your blood sugar every minute, and sends you alerts if your levels spike too high or drop too low. It’s covered by most insurance plans for prediabetes if your doctor writes a prescription, and you can get 10% off your first out-of-pocket order with the code below.

    Buy it here: Freestyle Libre 2 Starter Kit — use code PREDIA10 for 10% off your first order.

  3. Free Tool Pick (Best for Tracking Meals): MyFitnessPal The free version of MyFitnessPal is perfect for tracking your carb intake and logging your blood sugar readings. It syncs with most popular glucometers, has a barcode scanner for packaged foods, and lets you export 3 months of data to share with your doctor at follow-up appointments.

    Sign up for free here: MyFitnessPal — get a 7-day free trial of Premium if you want custom carb goals and blood sugar trend reports.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is prediabetes reversible?

Yes! 70-80% of people with prediabetes can reverse it completely and get their blood sugar back to the normal range with consistent small lifestyle changes. I reversed my own prediabetes for 3 years, and I’ve seen hundreds of people in my support group do the same.

2. Do I need to take medication for prediabetes?

Most people don’t. Your doctor may prescribe metformin if you are at very high risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes, but for 90% of people, diet and exercise changes are enough to lower blood sugar back to normal levels.

3. Can I still eat sugar if I have prediabetes?

You don’t have to cut out sugar entirely! I still eat a small piece of dark chocolate every night. The key is to limit added sugar to less than 25g per day for women and 36g per day for men, and pair sugar with protein or fiber to slow down its absorption and avoid blood sugar spikes.

4. How often should I get tested for prediabetes?

If you are at high risk (family history of diabetes, BMI over 25, over 45, history of gestational diabetes), get an A1c test once a year. If you’ve already been diagnosed with prediabetes, get a follow-up A1c test every 3 months to track your progress.

Final Note & Free Resource

Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about prediabetes — catching it early is the best thing you can do to avoid type 2 diabetes and the long-term health complications that come with it.

To help you get started, I put together a free 20-page 30-Day Prediabetes Reversal Playbook, with sample low-sugar meal plans, 10-minute post-meal workout ideas, and a printable blood sugar tracking template. You can download it for free here: Free 30-Day Prediabetes Reversal Playbook — no email required, just click and download.

If you have any questions, drop them in the comments below, I reply to every single one!